For those of you who enjoyed the first batch of SpongeBob Drawing Tips, here is the second half of the handouts I created a few years ago for the drawing and staging class at Nickelodeon. Thanks to Daniel, "datter," Helmy and Julian for their comments on the last post!

click on any of the images below to see
a nice BIG high-resolution page of SpongeBob Drawing Tips

These SpongeBob drawing tips were prepared for a class at Nickelodeon in 2005. If you click on any of the images below, you'll see a really HUGE high-resolution version that shows all the details!

On Silhouettes and Clarity

One of the big problems with animation studio model sheets is that the characters are invariably standing in completely stiff poses that make them look like they've been cheerfully impaled on a titanium rod.

To help the storyboard artists loosen up a bit, drawings are clipped out of the storyboards showcasing the best of the comedic and dynamic pose possibilities. Most of the artists tack those pose sheets up on the wall, but they soon become little more than wallpaper.

These tip sheets were created to encourage artists to break out of the horizontal and vertical stiffness of the SpongeBob model sheets, and to show how a little bit of movement and action and acting can make the cartoon characters come to life.

If you want to learn how to draw SpongeBob, or how to draw any cartoon characters with a little more zip, I hope these drawing tips will give you some ideas.

Drawing Characters with a strong Line of Action

Acting is Movement

CLICK on any of the images to
view a really BIG high-resolution version

The page below illustrates that characters should use their entire body to help act out the change in expression

Learn how to draw cartoons the Army way! Cartoonist Mike Lynch has shared a rare cartooning book that he found on eBay...a how-to guide on cartooning prepared by the staff of Popular Mechanics, published for the Special Services Division A.S.F. and "For Use of U.S. Armed Forces Only!" There are separate lessons on all the basic cartooning topics:

How to Draw heads, faces, expressions, caricatures, proportions and clothes...

In the second of two posts, Mike shares the rest of the book, including lessons on how to draw cartoon girls, kids, animals, hands and feet.

The last few pages are devoted to composition, perspective, shading and drapery! It's quite an all-inclusive little masterpiece of cartooning education!

Every page is drawn in a very bold and appealing old-timey cartoon style. Looks to me like the people that put this book together were artists that drew cartoon ads for matchbook covers and newspaper ads...they're all very bold and eye-catching, even at the dinkiest size!